Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Proverbs 8:30

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Proverbs 8:30. Then I was with him, as one brought up — אמון amon, a nursling, a darling child. Wisdom continues its parable, says Calmet; and represents itself as a new-born child which is ever near its parent, and takes pleasure to see him act, and to sport in his presence. This is poetical and highly figurative; and they who think they find the deity of Jesus Christ in these metaphors should be very cautious how they apply such terms as these; so that while they are endeavouring to defend the truth, they may do nothing against the truth, in which most of them unhappily fail.

Rejoicing always before him — All the images in this verse are borrowed from the state and circumstances of a darling, affectionate, playful child; as any one will be convinced who examines the Hebrew text.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Eternal wisdom available to all (8:1-36)

Once again wisdom is personified as a woman standing in a public place and speaking to the people who pass by (8:1-3; cf. 1:20-21). Even the immature and foolish can learn wisdom (4-5). One characteristic of wisdom is speech that is wholesome, true and straightforward (6-9). The instruction given by wisdom is beyond value, for it produces all those qualities most necessary for a truly worthwhile life. Yet it will not lead to pride, for people can only have this wisdom if they humbly fear God (10-13).
Wisdom in a country’s ruler will produce justice in the land (14-16). All who seek wisdom will find that they are genuinely enriched, both materially and spiritually (17-21).
The eternal God is the source of wisdom. It existed before the universe and, in fact, God created the universe by wisdom (22-29). Because of this, the completed creation, particularly the human creation, was a source of joy to God (30-31). People must seek wisdom daily if they are to find real life. If they are neglectful they will be the losers. To hate wisdom is fatal (32-36).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

REVELATION OF ETERNAL WISDOM'S PART IN CREATION

"Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth; While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep, When he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong, When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment, When he marked out the foundations of the earth; Then I was by him as a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing always before him, Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men."

These verses are among the most discussed passages in all the Bible. Here was a prominent battle ground of the great Arian controversy, which was led by Arius and his followers during the fourth century of this era. They denied the oneness of Jesus Christ with the Father, basing their arguments largely upon Proverbs 8:22 in this passage. We have already noted the stupidity of that argument, on the grounds that the passage does not even mention Christ. That many of the things here stated with regard to Wisdom are also most certainly true of Christ is no proof whatever that everything here said of Wisdom is also true of Christ. Therefore, even if Wisdom was created by God, how could that prove that Christ was a created being? This, of course, is totally apart from the fact that the Septuagint (LXX) mistranslation of Proverbs 8:22, upon which the Arians based their heresy, was simply that, a mistranslation.

"Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way" This is the line which the Septuagint (LXX) translated, "The Lord made me the beginning of his ways."This quotation is from the Zondervan Edition of the LXX. 1970. The Arians, of course, read this, "The Lord created me, etc." The current tragedy is that the RSV has erroneously translated this verse as, "The Lord created me at the beginning of his work." It is absolutely impossible that the RSV is correct in this rendition. F. C. Cook, writing in Barnes' Notes, declared that, "There is no ground for the thought of creation either in the meaning of the root or in the general usage of the word."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), op. cit., p. 31. Even the Anchor Bible rejected the stupid error of the RSV in this verse, rendering it, "The Lord possessed me, the first principle of his sovereignty."The Anchor Bible (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1982), p. 68, Kidner identifies the source of the false rendition in the RSV, pointing out that, "Ugaritic literature (and the paganism that dominates it) has recently swung opinion toward `created' as in the RSV."Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 15, p. 79.

The false notion that, "Wisdom was the first of God's works,"Arthur S. Peake, A Commentary on the Bible (London: T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 401 overlooks the axiomatic truth that nothing could have been created, not even wisdom, without the Creator's prior possession of it. Any other postulation on this appears to this writer as the height of the ridiculous.

Ordinary human intelligence dramatically refutes such a corrupt rendition. How, in the name of all that is reasonable, could God have created that Wisdom by which the worlds were made, if he did not indeed already possess it? Let the scholars who authored this ridiculous translation answer that! "To say that God at first lacked Wisdom by which he would create all things, and that He had first either to create it or learn it is absurd."Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 15, p. 80. The true translation of this Proverbs 8:22 is that in the KJV, which is also followed in the ASV.

"Great controversy for ages has raged over the word from which the various words, made, possessed, and created have been translated."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 165. But the truth is apparent even to the unlearned that God did not need to create wisdom, he possessed it! And if God had not already possessed it, He would never, in a billion years, have been able to create it! In this connection, it must be remembered that the wisdom mentioned here was that knowledge by which heaven and earth were created.

Many scholars have devoted countless pages to the discussion of the problem reviewed here; but we shall not further bother with an old controversy that was actually decided more than a thousand years ago. It is all resolved in the one incontrovertible truth that God did indeed "possess" (that's the key word) all Wisdom, all Knowledge, all Intelligence, Omnipotence, Ubiquitousness, and Omniscience from the eternal past.

Furthermore, even the Septuagint (LXX) statement that, "The Lord made me (Wisdom) the beginning of his ways," in no way suggests that God needed to create wisdom. The passage merely says that God made it the beginning (or foundation) of all his works; and God could not possibly have done THAT unless he did indeed already possess Wisdom.

So the Arian heresy died because (1) It was founded upon a passage that did not say what they alleged that it said, and (2) because if it indeed had said such a thing, it would not have applied to Christ, because the whole passage is a literary personification in which Christ is not even mentioned.

"I was set up from everlasting" It is impossible that this could have been said of any created thing. The eternity of wisdom as a possession of God is here clearly stated. This verse says that, "Wisdom is eternal."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 565. The RSV translators, seeing that this contradicted their false rendition of Proverbs 8:22, made it read, "Ages ago"; but unless we are willing to allow modern unbelievers to re-write the holy Bible to please themselves, we should reject their changes out of hand.

"Before the earth was… when there were no depths… fountains… mountains…hills… nor fields… I was there" "These several expressions all say that Wisdom is eternal."Ibid.

"When he made firm the skies above" The basic truth of this statement is totally lost on some evil writers. The skies above us ARE INDEED FIRM. The atmosphere itself is a divine coat of armor that protects the planet earth (1) from the ultra-violet radiation that would destroy all life without that "firm" atmosphere which includes the protective layer of ozone, and (2) also from the myriads of wandering meteorites, which long ago would have pock-mocked our earth in a manner similar to that which is seen on the moon if it had not been for those "firm" skies. Every time one sees what is called "a falling star," he is really witnessing our "firm" skies burning up and destroying another meteorite.

The destructive critics writing in the International Critical Commentary have perverted this passage by identifying it with Babylonian mythology, affirming that the Bible here teaches that, "The sky was a solid dome supported on pillars, that there were two oceans, one beneath the earth and another above that solid dome, and that the rain came down when God opened the windows of heaven (Genesis 7:11). All of this is an imaginary construction of modern (unbelieving) authors who take literally the figurative and poetic expressions of Biblical passages and, putting them together, build a crude cosmology which the Bible does not teach."R. Laird Harris in Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 365

Unbelieving critics love to literalize Biblical passages for the purpose of denying the truth. A New Testament example is in the statement of Christ regarding the deceased daughter of Jairus, "The child is not dead, but sleepeth" (Mark 5:39).

Toy's writing with regard to the "windows" of heaven was cited by Harris as another example of this same evil device.C. H. Toy in International Critical Commentary, p. 176. Ancient windows could not open and close as do ours. The Bible also noted that, "The windows of heaven" could let down barley and flour, and other blessings (2 Kings 7:2; Malachi 3:10); and even a grammar school student should be able to recognize such language as figurative.

This wicked habit of unbelieving writers may properly be called "the fundamentalism of critics." Quite inconsistently, they deny many plain and literal statements of God's Word, making light of Christians who believe them; and then, they themselves will deliberately literalize any figurative passage that may serve their purpose.

"I was by him… a master workman… daily his delight… rejoicing always before him… and my delight was with the sons of men" All of these expressions find their full explanation in the New Testament; and that is why Christian theologians for centuries have seen Jesus Christ as the Wisdom of God who is mentioned in this remarkable passage. Christ was in the beginning with God, and was God, and without him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:1-5). Yes, John used the word Logos here (a word identified with the philosopher Philo); but, "Philo's [@logos] was impersonal… So when John speaks of the Word (the [@Logos]), he teaches the true Hebrew idea of a personal, creating God, thus using Philo's word to reject and contradict Philo's thought."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 711.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

As one brought up with him - i. e., As his foster child. Others take the word in the original in another sense, “I was as his artificer,” a rendering which falls in best with the special point of the whole passage, the creative energy of Wisdom. Compare Wisdom Proverbs 7:21, Proverbs 7:22.

Daily - Heb. “day by day.” As the Creator rejoiced in His workmanship Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:10, Genesis 1:12-13, so Wisdom rejoiced in the exuberance of her might and strength.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 8

In chapter 8 we have an ode to wisdom. Wisdom is personified. And because of the personification of wisdom in this chapter, some have even likened wisdom unto Jesus Christ. "For in Him are hid all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" ( Colossians 2:3 ). So there are analogies that can definitely be drawn. Because Christ is the soul, the heart of wisdom. "In Him all the treasures of wisdom." So there are definite analogies that can be made to wisdom and to Jesus Christ, and there is definite parallels. There are definite parallels.

Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? ( Proverbs 8:1 )

Now, of course, we have just this is in sharp contrast to the previous chapter where this loud, stubborn, little impudent female is running around with her words of flattery in the streets and all. But, "Doth not wisdom cry? And understanding put forth her voice?"

She stands at the top of the high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She cries at the gates, and at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors: Unto you, O men, I call; my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing perverse or froward in them. They are all plain to him that understands, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold ( Proverbs 8:1-10 ).

In other words, prefer wisdom to wealth.

For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired cannot be compared to wisdom. I wisdom dwell with prudence, and I find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil ( Proverbs 8:11-13 ):

Now wisdom is speaking and declares,

pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth, I hate. Counsel is mine, sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all of the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue better than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or before the earth ever was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me finds life, and shall obtain favor of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongs his own soul: and all they that hate me love death ( Proverbs 8:13-36 ).

So we see how that Solomon is exhorting concerning wisdom. How wisdom is crying out for people, "Come, know me. Understand me. Listen to me." And the value of wisdom, treasure.

Now you remember when David died and Solomon was appointed king in his place. The Lord came to Solomon and said, "Ask of Me whatever you want." And Solomon prayed unto the Lord and said, "Oh, Lord, I ask that You will grant unto me wisdom in order that I might govern over these, Your people."

Now Solomon was aware of the awesome responsibility that was placed upon him when he took the scepter from his father David and began to rule over Israel. He realized what an awesome responsibility this was. And he also realized his own inability to stand up to this awesome responsibility. "Oh God, I need wisdom to know how to govern over these, Your people. That I might go out and in before them in such a way and that I might be a proper king." And God said unto Solomon, "Solomon, inasmuch as you've asked for wisdom, you've asked for a good thing. Because you didn't ask for riches, you didn't ask for fame, you didn't ask for your enemies to be delivered in your hands, but you asked instead for wisdom, excellent choice. And because you didn't ask for riches, fame, your enemies, but you've asked for wisdom instead, I'm not only going to give you wisdom, but I'm also going to give you great riches, fame and all."

And so God gave unto Solomon wisdom above all of his predecessors. So that from all over the world, people came to sit at the feet of Solomon to hear the wisdom of this man. So it is proper that this man who was given so much wisdom by God and knew the value and the benefits of wisdom should exhort unto wisdom.

And in then the personification of wisdom, I'm sure as we were reading through, you could see the parallels and the analogies that could be made to Jesus Christ. How that He was with the Lord in the beginning of the creation and the beautiful picturesque speech of the creation of the earth before. I wonder what it was like before God created the universe. I wonder what there was. What dimensions and whatever, you know. "Before the earth ever was, before He laid the foundation, before He set the boundaries of the sea, before He raised up the mountains, I was there." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

13. The function of wisdom ch. 8

Chapter 8 is an apology (defense) of wisdom. The argument of this section develops as follows. Wisdom would be every person’s guide (Proverbs 8:1-5; cf. Galatians 5:18; Galatians 5:22-23). She is morality’s partner (Proverbs 8:6-13), the key to success (Proverbs 8:14-21), the principle of creation (Proverbs 8:22-31), and the one essential necessity of life (Proverbs 8:32-36). Chapter 8 contains the longest sustained personification in the Bible. [Note: Merrill, p. 490.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Wisdom and creation 8:22-31

As Creator, God counted wisdom most important. Wisdom is older than the universe, and it was essential in its creation. Nothing came into existence without wisdom. Wisdom leads to joy because creation produces joy (Proverbs 8:30-31) both for the Creator and for the creature. God made and did nothing without wisdom. Therefore it is very important that we obtain it. That is the point.

"What has the voice of wisdom to say concerning the integration debate in Christian counseling? The wisdom literature of the Old Testament invites the study of human nature, behavior, and change from sources outside the canon of Scripture as well as in Scripture itself. Wisdom also exemplifies the use of methods that neither emerge exegetically from the Bible nor utilize the words of Scripture itself. Even when Scripture is used, wisdom often dictates which texts are most appropriate for a given situation and how application needs to take shape. At the same time, wise counselors recognize that the Bible is the only perfect authority for guiding faith and practice. Since the essence of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, a heart of adoration and submission to God is the foundation for skillful living, especially in the face of life’s most severe experiences. Not only in counseling, but in all aspects of life, wisdom calls for a deeper reverence for God in conforming one’s life to the Creator’s design." [Note: John W. Hilber, "Old Testament Wisdom and the Integration Debate in Christian Counseling," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:620 (October-December 1998):422.]

"The beginning of God’s way" (Proverbs 8:22) probably refers to the beginning of His creative work (Genesis 1), since that is what Solomon described in the verses that follow. [Note: See Hans-Jurgen Hermission, "Observations on the Creation Theology in Wisdom," in Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 43-47, 54-55.] Wisdom always existed as an attribute of God. [Note: William A. Irwin, "Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?" Journal of Biblical Literature 80 (1961):142.] Proverbs 8:30 pictures wisdom as God’s constant and intimate companion. As such we should value it highly. One writer concluded that wisdom is a link or bond between the Creator and His creation. [Note: R. B. Y. Scott, "Wisdom in Creation: The ’AMON of Proverbs VII 30," Vetus Testamentum 10 (1960):211-23.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Then I was by him, [as] one brought up [with him],.... He was then, and from all eternity, "by him", or "with him" q; which denotes his co-existence with God, and his relation to him as his Father; his nearness to him, his equality with him, and his distinction from him: he was by him when the names of God's elect were put down in the book of life; he was by him and with him in the council and covenant of grace and peace; and so in the creation of all things, and has been ever since; not as a onlooker, but as a party concerned; and not as subordinate and inferior to his Father, but equal with him. The word

אמון, translated "brought up", is differently rendered; Symmachus and Theodotion render it "strengthened"; as Christ was set up in his mediatorial office, he was strengthened in it by his Father; and was in his view, council, and covenant, the man of his right hand, made strong for himself: the Targum renders it "faithful", so the Tigurine version; as Christ was to him that appointed him, faithful to all he promised and was intrusted with. Many translate it an "artificer" or "workman" r, as אמן in Song of Solomon 7:1; and so Christ was a co-worker, a worker with God in the making of all things, the heavens, earth, and sea, and all in there; not as an instrument, but as a co-efficient cause of them; which is a proof of his proper deity, and equality with God. But others think the word has the sense of nursing, or being nursed, educated, or brought up. Some s take it actively, as in Ruth 4:16 Esther 2:7; and interpret it of Christ's nursing the creation, or cherishing, supporting, and preserving all creatures in their being when made; particularly of his nourishing and cherishing the church and people of God committed to his care. Others t passively, of his being "brought up", as our version; and so the Latin interpreter of the Targum renders it "nursed up at his side"; which expresses the tender regard of his Father to him, as his begotten Son; in whose bosom he lay and was bore, as a nursing father bears his son in his bosom,

Numbers 11:12; and by whom, as Mediator, he was trained up in the performance of his office;

and I was daily his delight; or "delights" u; exceeding delightful to him. The Father loved the Son from all eternity, with a love of complacency and delight, John 17:24; this delight was founded in relation to him, in sonship; and in likeness, he being the express image of his person; in sameness of nature, he being of the same nature and perfections with his Father: and he delighted in him as a workman, in the works which he did, being the same he saw him do; and in him as Mediator, in his constitution as such, and in engaging as a surety, to obey and suffer in the stead of his people, Isaiah 42:1; he not only delighted in him day by day, throughout the six days of the creation, when he was by him as a workman, but before, and even from the days of eternity; from the date of his commencement as Mediator; in the foreviews of his human nature, obeying and suffering in it; and of the salvation of the elect by him, and of his own glory in it;

rejoicing always before him; being always in his presence, and acceptable to him; rejoicing in having the same nature and perfections with him, and in the relation he stood in to him; and also in the view of the works of creation and redemption he would be jointly concerned in with him; which joy always did and ever will continue. There is a mutual pleasure and delight which the Father and Son have in each other, and in all that they are concerned; and especially in what respects the salvation of the chosen people. The allusion in the word used in this clause is to children's playing in the presence of their parents; which is a diversion to the one, and a pleasure to the other.

q אצלו "cum eo", V. L. "apud eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, c. r אמון αρμαζουσα, Sept. "cuneta componens", V. L. "artifex vel opifex", Gejerus so Schindler, col. 90. s "Nutritius", Montanus, Pagninus, Baynus "educans", Junius Tremellius. t "Alumnus", Vatablus, Piscator, Mercerus "alumna", Schultens; "in sinu gestatus filius", Cocceius; so Gussetius, p. 77. and Noldius, p. 379. No. 1884. and Stockins, p. 71. u שעשועים "deliciae", Montanus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis "obleclationes", Schultens.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.   23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.   24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.   25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:   26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.   27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:   28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:   29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:   30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;   31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

      That it is an intelligent and divine person that here speaks seems very plain, and that it is not meant of a mere essential property of the divine nature, for Wisdom here has personal properties and actions; and that intelligent divine person can be no other than the Son of God himself, to whom the principal things here spoken of wisdom are attributed in other scriptures, and we must explain scripture by itself. If Solomon himself designed only the praise of wisdom as it is an attribute of God, by which he made the world and governs it, so to recommend to men the study of that wisdom which belongs to them, yet the Spirit of God, who indited what he wrote, carried him, as David often, to such expressions as could agree to no other than the Son of God, and would lead us into the knowledge of great things concerning him. All divine revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, and here we are told who and what he is, as God, designed in the eternal counsels to be the Mediator between God and man. The best exposition of these verses we have in the John 1:1-4 of St. John's gospel. In the beginning was the Word, c. Concerning the Son of God observe here,

      I. His personality and distinct subsistence, one with the Father and of the same essence, and yet a person of himself, whom the Lord possessed (Proverbs 8:22; Proverbs 8:22), who was set up (Proverbs 8:23; Proverbs 8:23), was brought forth (Proverbs 8:24; Proverbs 8:25), was by him (Proverbs 8:30; Proverbs 8:30), for he was the express image of his person,Hebrews 1:3.

      II. His eternity; he was begotten of the Father, for the Lord possessed him, as his own Son, his beloved Son, laid him in his bosom; he was brought forth as the only-begotten of the Father, and this before all worlds, which is most largely insisted upon here. The Word was eternal, and had a being before the world, before the beginning of time; and therefore it must follow that it was from eternity. The Lord possessed him in the beginning of his way, of his eternal counsels, for those were before his works. This way indeed had no beginning, for God's purposes in himself are eternal like himself, but God speaks to us in our own language. Wisdom explains herself (Proverbs 8:23; Proverbs 8:23): I was set up from everlasting. The Son of God was, in the eternal counsels of God, designed and advanced to be the wisdom and power of the Father, light and life, and all in all both in the creation and in the redemption of the world. That he was brought forth as to his being, and set up as to the divine counsels concerning his office, before the world was made, is here set forth in a great variety of expressions, much the same with those by which the eternity of God himself is expressed. Psalms 90:2, Before the mountains were brought forth. 1. Before the earth was, and that was made in the beginning, before man was made; therefore the second Adam had a being before the first, for the first Adam was made of the earth, the second had a being before the earth, and therefore is not of the earth,John 3:31. 2. Before the sea was (Proverbs 8:24; Proverbs 8:24), when there were no depths in which the waters were gathered together, no fountains from which those waters might arise, none of that deep on which the Spirit of God moved for the production of the visible creation, Genesis 1:2. 3. Before the mountains were, the everlasting mountains, Proverbs 8:25; Proverbs 8:25. Eliphaz, to convince Job of his inability to judge of the divine counsels, asks him (Job 15:7), Wast thou made before the hills? No, thou wast not. But before the hills was the eternal Word brought forth. 4. Before the habitable parts of the world, which men cultivate, and reap the profits of (Proverbs 8:26; Proverbs 8:26), the fields in the valleys and plains, to which the mountains are as a wall, which are the highest part of the dust of the world; the first part of the dust (so some), the atoms which compose the several parts of the world; the chief or principal part of the dust, so it may be read, and understood of man, who was made of the dust of the ground and is dust, but is the principal part of the dust, dust enlivened, dust refined. The eternal Word had a being before man was made, for in him was the life of men.

      III. His agency in making the world. He not only had a being before the world, but he was present, not as a spectator, but as the architect, when the world was made. God silenced and humbled Job by asking him, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who hath laid the measures thereof? (Job 38:4, c.). Wast thou that eternal Word and wisdom, who was the prime manager of that great affair? No thou art of yesterday." But here the Son of God, referring, as it should seem, to the discourse God had with Job, declares himself to have been engaged in that which Job could not pretend to be a witness of and a worker in, the creation of the world. By him God made the worlds,Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:2; Colossians 1:16. 1. When, on the first day of the creation, in the very beginning of time, God said, Let there be light, and with a word produced it, this eternal Wisdom was that almighty Word: Then I was there, when he prepared the heavens, the fountain of that light, which, whatever it is here, is there substantial. 2. He was no less active when, on the second day, he stretched out the firmament, the vast expanse, and set that as a compass upon the face of the depth (Proverbs 8:27; Proverbs 8:27), surrounded it on all sides with that canopy, that curtain. Or it may refer to the exact order and method with which God framed all the parts of the universe, as the workman marks out his work with his line and compasses. The work in nothing varied from the plan of it formed in the eternal mind. 3. He was also employed in the third day's work, when the waters above the heavens, were gathered together by establishing the clouds above, and those under the heavens by strengthening the fountains of the deep, which send forth those waters (Proverbs 8:28; Proverbs 8:28), and by preserving the bounds of the sea, which is the receptacle of those waters, Proverbs 8:29; Proverbs 8:29. This speaks much the honour of this eternal Wisdom, for by this instance God proves himself a God greatly to be feared (Jeremiah 5:22) that he has placed the sand for the bound of the sea, that the dry land might continue to appear above water, fit to be a habitation for man; and thus he has appointed the foundation of the earth. How able, how fit, is the Son of God to be the Saviour of the world, who was the Creator of it!

      IV. The infinite complacency which the Father had in him, and he in the Father (Proverbs 8:30; Proverbs 8:30): I was by him, as one brought up with him. As by an eternal generation he was brought forth of the Father, so by an eternal counsel he was brought up with him, which intimates, not only the infinite love of the Father to the Son, who is therefore called the Son of his love (Colossians 1:13), but the mutual consciousness and good understanding that were between them concerning the work of man's redemption, which the Son was to undertake, and about which the counsel of peace was between them both,Zechariah 6:13. He was alumnus patris--the Father's pupil, as I may say, trained up from eternity for that service which in time, in the fulness of time, he was to go through with, and is therein taken under the special tuition and protection of the Father; he is my servant whom I uphold,Isaiah 42:1. He did what he saw the Father do (John 5:19), pleased his Father, sought his glory, did according to the commandment he received from his Father, and all this as one brought up with him. He was daily his Father's delight (my elect, in whom my soul delighteth, says God, Isaiah 43:1), and he also rejoiced always before him. This may be understood either, 1. Of the infinite delight which the persons of the blessed Trinity have in each other, wherein consists much of the happiness of the divine nature. Or, 2. Of the pleasure which the Father took in the operations of the Son, when he made the world; God saw every thing that the Son made, and, behold, it was very good, it pleased him, and therefore his Son was daily, day by day, during the six days of the creation, upon that account, his delight,Exodus 39:43. And the Son also did himself rejoice before him in the beauty and harmony of the whole creation, Psalms 104:31. Or, 3. Of the satisfaction they had in each other, with reference to the great work of man's redemption. The Father delighted in the Son, as Mediator between him and man, was well-pleased with what he proposed (Matthew 3:17), and therefore loved him because he undertook to lay down his life for the sheep; he put a confidence in him that he would go through his work, and not fail nor fly off. The Son also rejoiced always before him, delighted to do his will (Psalms 40:8), adhered closely to his undertaking, as one that was well-satisfied in it, and, when it came to the setting to, expressed as much satisfaction in it as ever, saying, Lo, I come, to do as in the volume of the book it is written of me.

      V. The gracious concern he had for mankind, Proverbs 8:31; Proverbs 8:31. Wisdom rejoiced, not so much in the rich products of the earth, or the treasures hid in the bowels of it, as in the habitable parts os it, for her delights were with the sons of men; not only in the creation of man is it spoken with a particular air of pleasure (Genesis 1:26), Let us make man, but in the redemption and salvation of man. The Son of God was ordained, before the world, to that great work, 1 Peter 1:20. A remnant of the sons of men were given him to be brought, through his grace, to his glory, and these were those in whom his delights were. His church was the habitable part of his earth, made habitable for him, that the Lord God might dwell even among those that had been rebellious; and this he rejoiced in, in the prospect of seeing his seed. Though he foresaw all the difficulties he was to meet with in his work, the services and sufferings he was to go through, yet, because it would issue in the glory of his Father and the salvation of those sons of men that were given him, he looked forward upon it with the greatest satisfaction imaginable, in which we have all the encouragement we can desire to come to him and rely upon him for all the benefits designed us by his glorious undertaking.